Means for assembling and retaining radially disposed vanes



May 2, 1950 R. c. ZEIDLER 2,505,820

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MEANS FOR ASSEMBLING AND RETAINING RADIALLY DISPOSED VANES Filed Feb. 28. 1945 j' .Z "F5 f3 5559.57 y

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May 2, 1950 n. c. zElnLER 2,505,820

MEANSV FOR ASSDIBLING AND RETAINING RADIALLY DISPOSED VANES Filed Feb. 28. 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 T .fz- 54' a gy I l 39 Igl .m

.Fein/n@ CZez'aQ/ef Patented May 2, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEANS FOR ASSEMBLING AND RADIALLY DISPVOSED Zeidier. Detroit, amer Corpora Reinhold C. Borg-W poration of Illinois tion, Chicago, IIL

BETINING VANES Mich., signor to a oor- Applioation February 28, 1945, Serial No. 580,287

(Cl. S-115) 'I'he present invention relates to means for assembling and retaining venes in a. rotatable supporting member. More speciilcally the present respective parts thereof.

Another principal object hereof is to provide an arrangement whereby the components of a vaned member may be quickly and effectively asaembled by a single operation.

Still another principal object hereoiI resides in at certain regions. vane teeth, to

Por said coupling. unnecessary to employ the intermediate shell member commonly used for the driving member Vanesa A stili further object hereof is to improve the emciency of performance of the fluid coupling turbulence therein.

Additional objects. aims invention contemplated herein will be to persons skilled .in the art after the tion and operation of the present construehydraulic preferred to accomplish the numerous objects of this invention and to practice th stantially the manner hereinafter fully described and as more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is now drawings that form wherein:

made to the accompanying a part of this speciilcatlon.

and advantages of the a,soa,sso

present arrangement of the vanes in the member of a fluid coupling. said being of thinner material than the material of the housing member shown ln Fig. 2; Pig. 6 is a fragmentary axial section showing tbogiemembersofliminpartlyclosedpong. 'I is aview simllarto Fig. 6, showing the die members completely closed at the end of the assembling operation;

Finals aneniargedfragmentar! sectionalong themanummer-tenidas;

FigJla anenlargedviewoftheregionenclosed inthcbrokenlinecircle AonFigJi;

Iig. 10 is an enlarged view of the region enclosed mthebrokenlinecireleBonFlg.'l; and

ligs.` 11 and 12V are enlarged sectional views showing the of the present invention applied to vanes and housings or shells having different shapes than those in the preceding The drawings are to be understood as being more or les of a schematic character for the purpose of disclosing a typical or preferred form of the improvements which are contemplated herein. and in these drawings like reference charoctets identify the same parte in the different ewa.

Referring now to a detailed description of the improved duid coupling shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. il is a crank or drive shaft to the end flange li of which there is bolteibthe disk-like composite which provides one of the walls of the fluid housing and has an annular Lshaped flange Il at its margin. A suitable metal stamping il with a folded back radial marginal danse il issecured by bolts II to housing flange Il to form a fluid-tight housing for the hydraulic torque transmitting device or fluid coupling. The stamping il provides the other wall of the housing and, together with the disk-like wall i2. defines a container of substantially toroidal shape as shown inllg. 1.

The driven shaft il extends into the housing comprised of walls I2 and il and supports s hub member il preferably in the form of a radial flange. The inner end of driven shaft i1 projects into a central opening Iii in housing wall i! where said shaft is supported by an anti-friction hearing 2l. A suitably shaped securely anchored in the oute portion of opening il where it may be rmly engaged by the adjacent face of driving disk `Ii whereby to prevent leakage past the bearing.

Stamping i4 has a radially inward central portion Il surrounding the opening through which driven shaft I1 enters the housing. and there is a tubular hub 2l welded as at 24 to the inner edge of said central portion 22 as seen in Fig. 1. Hub Il is internally threaded to receive an externally threaded hollow sleeve nut Il which has a flange 2l that compresses a packing washer it against the end edge of hub member 2l. The inner end of sleeve nut 2l serves as an abutment for a bellows type seal 21 which Le inserted between said nut Il and the hub flange Il. against the latter 'of which the seal is yieldably urged by a helical spring le.

It will be observed that the vanes 29 and 8l of the two respectlvemembers of the coupling are vanes le are formed, and there is an circular plate or stamping arranged so that the plane or straight edges 2da and ila are proxiin the driving and driven memand with the arcuate or segmental edges 1lb disposed in the housing as shown in Fig. 1.

The driving vanes I! have a plurality of serratione. teeth, or projections that extend beyond the normal boundaries oi these venes on their curved or segmental edges. and these teeth members may be arranged in a plurality of groups. As there is a radially outward group Il, a-radially inward group Il, and an intermediate group The metal of the stamping i4 comprising a wall of the driving member is softer or more ductile than the material from which intermediate outward bulge or torus region il of concavo-cony vex cross section that conforms with the contour ',housing.

seal cap 2i is 4 of the segmental or curved edges 29h of the adjacent venes. In assembling the vanes 29 in the housing torus region 34, the preformed housing and the vanes are pressed together with the edges of the venes exerting pressure transversely of the 'nils causes the teeth or the like on the vanes to pierce or bite into the wail of the housing thus fixing the vanes firmly in place.

It will be here explained that various materials may be used for the driving housing and its vanes although it has been found that steel is the cheapest and most easily fabricated. Satisfactory results have been attained by making the vanes of a high carbon steel which is given a simple heat treatment to produce a hardness of about Rockwell C 45, and the housing member is made of deep drawing low carbon steel having a hardness of about Rockwell B 65. Converting these materials into a common hardness they would be respectively about Brinell 421, and about Brinell 112. Thus it will be seen. the vanes are almost four times harder than the housing member. This data is given merely by way of a comparative example and in no sense limits the material used in the fabrication of the vanes and the housing member.

The driven member vanes lll are carried by a stamped shell il of concavo-convex cross section having a central portion I6 extending radially inward to the hub dange i8 where it is seated on s shouldered portion 31 of said hub flange ami secured in place by rivets $8 or the like.

This shell 35 of the driven member is preferably a preformed stamping of metal thinner than the housing Il of the driving member. The driven venes lli have groups of serrations, teeth or projections ll, IU and 4i at their respective radially outward portions, radially inward portions. and their intermediate portions. The assembling or fixing of these vanes in the shell 35 is performed in approximately the same manner as hereinbefore explained with reference to the driving member of the coupling. with the exception that the outward and inward groups of teeth or the lke are preferably sheared through the shell 35 as shown in Fig. 1. The shell Il is of a softer steel than the steel used for fabricating the vanes Sii and bears the same relationship thereto as has been explained with respect to the driving member of the coupling.

The hou'sng il and th shell 35 are assembled with their proper vanes 2l and 30 by means of the apparatus and in the manner shown in Figs. 2 to 4 and Figs. 5 to 10 respectively. the two apparatus being generally similar to each other.

substantially duplicates, each comprising a semi- 'It but differ only in certain minor details for the accusa mosca! adapting tnemtothespecine strucopposed ehapingmembonandllaremoved tures or me nouslng le and sneu a. toward each other.

une assembly which is employed :or fixing the The inner section Il ot die assembly Il has vanes zu in housing M is oost shown in rigs. 2, a central fiat region 04 to oppose the central 3 anu 4. uns assembly compi-:ses an arrange- 5 hat region 4I oi' the punch member 4I with the ment whereby tne venes are supported in proper apertured central portion 22 of housing Il berauiaiari-ay equioistanuy spaced :rom eacn other tween them. The work corner il ci' this inner so that by a relative movement between tne vanes die section is rounded on a radius smaller than to enter the walls or the housing to nx or lock 1n 50 which it opposes on punch member 42 for entne vanes inplace. 'ine housing Il ispierormed gazing a suitable preformed bead Ha on the to approximately its nnished shape. the vanes u housing stamping. The rounded corner ll is ate edges 'aso aspreviously described. 15 Valles intO the 099061118 Domini 0I the h0u8ins The punch member u or the che assembly is and deforms the bead Ma during relative moveshaped to give the desired nnal form or contour ment between the opposing die members. Thus an annular or ring-like ringe or bulge i3 of senu- 5U 0f the Punch member during the nl travel mommcross secnon which has muy disposed n of the relatively movable members 42 and Il oi outwardly diverglng slits 4I tor receiving and the apparatusfThis @OntinuOu-Sly DI'OCI'escivB holding a complete set or vanes 28. The widths of llaive movement 18 Krphilly hOWn in F188- slits u are sumcient to eirect a minimum of 3 and 4 only the teeth or serrations il, 32 and 33 project there is an Outward divel'lng Smooth WOrk surheyond the surfa or the mu face 68 that is a counterpart of misto-conical and below uns shoulder me punch member has 35 rations 3| into the housing wall and to deform punch member conforms with the ma] cms continuous travel of the relatively movable memsectional shape or the corresponding radially 4r bers n and 5' of the apparatusonr norman of the housing I4 nner the vane It will be understood that when the vane xwenn have been set by entering nem nto the wan ing operation begins the pad ring 53 will contact ol' the housing. Also there is a iat region or land the rg portiont ofntlhshtushg stanptge causm e vane ee en er an s on me central portion of punch member u .u the housing wall. During this portion of the s ce f t i 4 operation the springs 58 are of sumcient strength the wr? menbelsr gglcagenufl to hold me ring 53 without being compressed. As the purpose or which Wm be later exnnnnem the relative movement progresses, the ring 53 be- Tne (ne member 5l which opposes the punch comes retracted. thus compressing the springs member n s preferably a composite assembly ,5, until the ring bottoms on back plate or shoe 55. comprising n nlnranty o1. annular sections 52' 53 In this fully retracted position the concave work and u respectively' disposed in concentric array face 83 of the ring will be in exact registration and mounted on a back plate or Shoe 55. The with the adjacent edges of the concave surfaces outer and inner sections 52 and 54 are sumciently e' and n so that the outer and met die sec' `paged from each other, movably accommodate tions and the concave face 63 of the. pad ring the annular intermediate section 53 between provide a continuous substantially semi-circular this die assembly, and 11; 1S backed by a plurality It is important to here note the relationship 0f heavy pressure springs 5a seated in pockets 0f the Shape 0f the housing t0 the dies at the maintained in a preloaded condition by bolts B8 dies impart the final form to the housing by so as to limit the amount ring pressure pad 53 distorting it to cause the vane teeth 3l and 32 to projects beyond the adjacent concave shaped engage and bite into the housing. With Said discontour forming surfaces 6l and 62 of the respeetortion causing the material in the housing t0 tive outer and inner sections 52 and 54 of this die 70 take a permanent set. thus preventing any member assembly 5l. As seen in Figs. 2 to 4. the "spring back o1' the material which might leave work face of the ring pressure pad 53 is formed the vanes loosely mounted in the housing when with a concave channel 63 which is a counterthe dies are opened.

part of the crown portion of the housing torold It will be seen that the operation of fixing the yregion I4 with which it will engage when the 70 vanes in the housing comprises placing the vanes Il which oi punch inaonulararrayintheseatsorsiots are radially in the ridge 43 member 43. When the vanes are thus ony the teeth or seri-ations 3i, 33 and 38 of said vane: project beyond the surface of the ridge. so that when the preformed stamped housing il is superimposed thereon the annular toroidai portion 3l of the housing will properly position the vanes il! shifting or sliding them longitudinally in their seats. Relative movement between the opposing die members bring the pressure ring 53 into initial contact with the housing as seen in Fig. 3 causing an axial or parallel movement of the entire housing il during which teeth 33 are entered and the housing bottoms on the adjacent surface of the punch member ridge I3 on both sides of teeth 33. As the relative movement continues, pressure ring I3 retracts, the dies continue to close, and the housing stamping it as a whole ceases to move axially but a movement or deforming oi.' material takes place principally radially inward at the teeth 3l and 32 to enter them into the as seen in Fig. 4. Also there is a deforming of material at the arrows W and Z which forces the material inward alongside or back oi teeth 3| and 32. The housing material is relatively thick to give it necessary strength as the drive member of a fluid coupling to resist operating forces due to centrifugal force and internal liquid pressur This thickness of the material is sumcient to permit the vane teeth to enter into it to lock the vanes in ilxed positions and also toeilect a driving connection but not pass through or puncture the housing so as to cause leakage of the fluid.

Pigs. 5 to 10 show the assembly or apparatus adapted for ilxing the vanes 39 in place in the shell 3l of the driven member of a uid coupling. The eonstructionand operation of such apparatus is approximately the same as hereinbeicre described with respect to the driving member of the duid couping. The shel 35 in this instance is of much thinner material than housing It since it is not subjected to the heavy opera* ing forces as those to which the housing is subiected. The shell material although thin is also relatively softer than the vanes that are fixed therein by the action of Opposing die members. Furthermore, the driven shell vanes 3u may correspond identically with driving housing vanes 29 so as to be interchangeable therewith and said driven vanes may numerically exceed the driving member vanes for the purpe of bringing about certain operating characteristics of a hydraulic torque transmitting device. Since the driven shell 3l, as sn in Fig. 1, is entirely within the toroidal container (comprised of housing Il and back wall casting i2) and it is surrounded by or immersed in the working fluid which exerts approximately the same pressure on both sides of the walls of shell 35, leakage of fluid from one side through the shell to theother side thereof is not necessarily harmful. Consequently it is practical, and has been found desirable to permit the driven vane teeth 39 and l0 to he sheared through the wall of shell as at 1D in Figs. 1 and '1. This necessitates modifying the die con struction to the extent that radial notches 6| and 82a are made in the concave work surfaces .l and 62 of inner and outer annular die sections Il and i2, such notches being of equal number to and directly in line with the vane positioning slots or seats 4l in the ridge I3 of the punch member l2. Also side-by-side indentations 63a are made in the deepest portion of the concave work face G3 o! the assembly Si. which results in the formation of small outwardly projected bosses 1i on the iinished assembly. The purpose of notches ila and Ila, and indentations llo, is twofold; nrst, they give the material in the driven shell 35 somewhere to go so as to prevent direct compression which might cause undue wear of the die andpossible rupture or distortion of the vane teeth; second. since the width of the notches and the diameters oi' the indentations are only slightly more than the thickness of the vane it causes the teeth to shear through the shell or be enveloped by the shell leaving the edge of the normal shell wall in tight driving contact with the sides of the vane teeth. Y

For the purpose of simplicity, as well as convenience in identifying parts of the die assemblies shown in Figs. 5 to l0 which correspond with identical parts of the assemblies shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, said'parts have been given identical reference characters. that the operation of fixing the varies 30 in the driven shell 35 is performed in a single operation and by the same method as that performed in fixlng the vanos 28 in the driving housing, the only exception being that teeth 3S and lll of driven shell vanes 3l) are sheared through the shell stamping.

The steps of producing the hydraulic torque transmission device. fluid coupling, or other assembly, involve the preformlng of the member onwhich the preformed toothed varies are to be fixed. This member is a stamping preferably having a channel cross section and may comprise a. torus. The toothed varies are inserted into slots in one of the die elements, which, in the event the finished article is to be employed as a iiuid coupling member, will position the vanes in radial array. The preformed vane supporting member, which preferably is channeled, is then seated upon the vanes in contact with the vane teeth thereby effecting a proper positioning of the vanes to center them. The thus-assembled parts are engaged with an opposing or second die memher by causing a relative movement between the dies. This movement of the dies will press the vane supporting member or torus around the toothed vanes which deformsV said member or torus into the desired shape and the teeth of the vanes are thus forced or pierced into the surface material of the member or torus, thereby to maintain the vanes against dislodgrnent and preventlng any spring back of the material when the dies are opened. The method of fixing the venes in their supporting member is not limited to the fabrication of a torus member for a hydraulic torque transmission device or iiuid coupling since it is apparent the same arrangement and steps may be readily employed for anchoring vanos on a suitable supporting member or carrier element.

In the foregoing speciiication, and in the sub- ;ioined claims. the tapered outwardly projecting teeth or serratlnns on the vanes are described as piercing the walls of the housing and the shell. This does not necessarily mean that the teeth actually puncture or perforate the material with which they are engaged but that said teeth merely enter or bite into the material. Also it is apparent that the material of the shell or housing may be merely deformed or shaped around proximate portions of the teeth during the operation of the dies so that the teeth become firmly im-' bedded in the material to eilect anchorage of the and- Also it should be understood The shell or housing- 'il shown in Fig. 1i is a torus of asymmetric contour in cross section and the margin oi' the vane ll is a counterpart thereof with groups of saw-like teeth il pierced into the shell or housing. The shell or housing 1l and the vane 18 in Fig. l2 are elongated in a direction away from the straight edge Il of the vane. In both instances the several groups of teeth are pierced into the metal wall of the housing.

While this invent'on has been described in detail in its present preferred form or embodiment, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, after understanding the improvements, that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. It is therefore aimed in the ap- .pended claims to cover all such changes and modincations.

I claim:

1. A vane comprising a plate of generally semi-circular contour, the arcuate x'nargin lof said plate adapted to llt a concave counterpart face on a vane supporting member, and teeth projecting beyond the arcuate margin, said teeth having straight radial edges and edges sloping therefrom, said teeth being adapted to pierce said counterpart concave face of the supporting member and displace the material thereof.

2. A vane comprising a plate having at least one arcuate margin, and teeth projecting beyond said arcuate margin, said teeth havingstraight radial edges and sloping edges whereby said teeth are adapted to pierce into and place material of a concavely channeled memb r in which said vane plate is received and supported.

3. A vaned member comprising a vane receiving body having a concave wall surface, and a plurality of vanes in radial array on said wail, the margins of said vanes having projections that are engaged with and pressed into said wall thereby to eifect the sole anchorage means for said vanes.

4. A vaned member comprising an annular body having a wall of concavo-convex crosssection, and a plurality of vanes in radial array on the concave face of said wall, the margins of said vanes having spaced groups of projections pressed into said concave wall, and the wall being deformed outwardly back of certain of said groups of projections, whereby said deformation and the adjacent projections provide the sole means for securing said vanes in said concave wall.

5. A vaned member for a. hydraulic torque transmission and the'I like, comprising a toruslike annular body of concavo-convex cross-section, and a plurality of vanes in radial array on the concave face of said body, said vanes having margins which are counterparts of said concave surface, and projections on said counterpart vane margins pressed into and eecting a deformation of said wall, whereby said projections and deformations provide the sole means for anchoring said vanes.

8. A vaned member for a hydraulic torque transmission and the like, comprising an annular torus-like member embodying a stamping oi'r concave-convex cross-section, and a plurality of vanes in radial array in said member. each vane embodying a stamping having an arcuate margin fitting the concave surface of said annular member stamping, and projections on said arcuate margin of the vane stamping which projections are pressed into the concave portion of said annular member stamping and deforming material l0 thereof. whereby each vane is positively anchored in said member.

7. A vaned member for a hydraulic torque transmission and the like comprising a metal stamping constituting a rotatable torus-like annular member having a vane receiving inner face of concave cross-section; a plurality of metal stampings constituting vanes with arcuate margins having contours conforming with the concave inner face of said annular member, said vanes arranged in radial array with respect to the axis of said annular member; and projections on the arcuate margins of said vanes, said projections having radial and sloping edges pierced into the concave inner face oi' said annular member, the construction and arrangement of said projections being such that the radial edges thereof present axial movement of said vanes relative to said torus-like annular member.

8. A vaned member for huid couplings and the like comprising, a hollow toroidal wall having a concave surface; and a plurality of radial segmental vanes arranged in spaced annular array within said wall, said vanes having arcuate edges and a plurality of spurs projecting from said edges, said arcuate edges being assembled within said hollow wall to dt the concave surface thereof, and said spurs being bodily pierced into the concave surface of said hollow wall and entered at least partly through the thickness oi' said wall.

9. A vaned member for iiuid couplings and the like comprising. an open-sided housing deilned by a hollow toroidal wall of pre-formed concavoconvex cross section defining an open-sided housing; and a plurality of radial segmental vanes arranged in spaced annular array within said housing. said vanes each being pre-formed with arcuate edges arranged to fit the concave face of said housing; and a plurality of spurs projecting from said vane edges and having straight radial edgesand sloping edges, said spurs being pierced through the concave surface of said toroidal housing wall and entered at least partly through the thickness of said wall. the construction and arrangement of said spurs being such that the radial edges thereof are adapted to prevent axial movement of said vanes relative to said housing.

l0. A device of the class described comprisingl a torus-like vane receiving member of concavo-convex cross-section, and a vane therefor,

said vane having marginal teeth pierced into and displacing material of said member in a direction away from said teeth, the arrangement providing the sole means for maintaining said member and vane in assembly.,

1l. A vane comprising a plate adapted to fit into a torus-shaped vane receiving member of concavo-convex cross-section, said plate having' marginal teeth on` at least three spaced positions adaptedto engage said vane receiving member, and bite into said vane receiving member whereby the material thereof is displaced away from said teeth, the\arrangement providing the solo means for maintaining said member and vane in assembly with said torus-shaped vane receiving member.

l2. A vaned member for a hydraulic torque transmission and the like. comprising an annularl torus-like member embodying a stamping of con-V cavo-convex crosslsection, and a plurality oi' vanas in radial array in said member, each vane vembodying a stamping having an arcuate margin asoaeao 11 fitting the concave surface cf said annular member stamping. projections on said arcuate margin of the vane stamping which projections are into the concave portion of said annular member stamping and deforming material there- `ing a stamping having an arcuate margin fitting the concave surface of said annular member stamping, projections on said arcuate margin of the vane stamping which projections are pressed into the concave portion of bald annular member stamping and deforming material thereof, whereby each vane is positively anchored in said member. a vane receiving member, and a vane therefor, said member and said vane comprising metalstampings, said vane having outwardly tapered marginal projections with radial and sloping edges which are pierced into said member.

14. A vaned member for a hydraulic torque on and the like, comprising an annular torus-like member embodying a stamping of concave-convex cross-section, and a plurality of 'venes in radial array in said member, each vane a stamping having an arcuate margin fitting the concave surface of said annular member stamping, projections on said arcuate margin ot the vane stamping which projections are pressed into the concave portion of said annular member stamping and deforming material thered, whereby each vane is positively anchored in 'said member, a vane receiving member, and a vane therefor, said member and said vane compricing metal stampinga said vane having marginal projections with radial and sloping edges pierced into said member. the metal of said member being thereby deform'ed around said projections with the projections pierced therein.

15. The method of fixing a plurality of segmental shaped vanes having spaced groups of axially and radially pointing teeth or spurs in the smooth concave surface of a semi-torcido] housing. comprising: arranging the vanes in spaced radial array in a radially slotted annular first die member having a cross-section conforming generally with the contour of a vane, and with the spurs protruding therefrom; superimposing and centering the toroldal housing in a semi-formed state on the protruding spurs; initially engaging the housing with a second die member to e'ect permanent outward radial distortion at the smooth inner portion 'of said housing and permanent inward radial distortion at the outer portion of said housing to effect an approximate'counterpart of the finished housing; and then continuing the engagement of the housing with said second die by further relative axial movement to cause the spurs pointing in an axial direction to pierce into said housing. and the spurs pointing radially inward and out ward to pierce into said portion of housing which has been permanently distorted in radial directions. the distorting the housing and the piercing the vane spurs therein comprising the sole means for permanently fastening the venes in said housing. Y

REINHOLD C. ZEIDLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 903,454 Dake Nov. 10, 1908 1,470,505 Steenstrup Oct. 9, 1923 1,720,754 Baumann July 16, 1929 1,868,146 Kiep July 19, i932 1,916,175 Lysholm et al. June 27. 1933 1,988,595 Hiss Jan. 22, 1935 

